{"id":33308,"date":"2024-06-18T10:00:28","date_gmt":"2024-06-18T10:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interstride.com\/?p=33308"},"modified":"2025-05-28T21:33:07","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T21:33:07","slug":"uscs-international-student-mentorship-program-a-model-for-career-and-community-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interstride.com\/blog\/uscs-international-student-mentorship-program-a-model-for-career-and-community-development\/","title":{"rendered":"USC\u2019s International Student Mentorship Program: a model for career and community development"},"content":{"rendered":"

This blog post was co-authored by <\/span><\/i>Ariadne Cheng<\/span><\/i><\/a>, Associate Director of International Student Career Engagement at USC, and <\/span><\/i>Sairam Potlapadu<\/span><\/i><\/a>, International Student Career Engagement Graduate Intern at USC, and is based on a presentation delivered at the 2024 Interstride Symposium.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The University of Southern California (USC) is a prestigious private university in Los Angeles that has an international student population of almost 13,000 students. They launched their International Student Mentorship Program (ISMP) in January 2023, and now they are sharing their successes with the program so far.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where did the idea to launch a mentorship program for international students come from?<\/b><\/h2>\n

To better support our international students at USC, we surveyed them in October 2022 on what USC resources, services, and events they have and haven\u2019t used, and what they would like to see offered in the future. Some of the broader themes that emerged in international students\u2019 responses to the latter question are below:<\/span><\/p>\n

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I realized that many of the needs and additional support requested by our international students in the survey could be addressed through alumni mentorship. Mentorship, particularly with international alumni, can help international students develop potential professional connections, adapt to life in the US, and build their job-search tool kits including resume writing, interview skills, and job-search strategies. Being mentored by someone who shares their international identity also fosters a sense of community and belonging which can benefit students\u2019 overall mental health and wellbeing as they face the challenges of college life in the US.<\/span><\/p>\n

How did you design and launch the mentorship program?\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

We hope this step-by-step explanation of how we executed our International Student Mentorship Program (ISMP) may help other institutions that are looking for ways to increase support for their international students.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. Test<\/b>: We reached out to alumni via email and the Trojan Network (our online networking and mentorship platform) to gauge interest in a mentorship program for international students.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Build<\/b>: Using existing mentorship programs at USC as guides, we built a framework for our own program, including\u00a0 program descriptions, mentor\/mentee handbooks, best practice guides, and program goals.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Plan<\/b>: We created a timeline and structure for the program that would last one semester. Then, we started planning the program orientation and monthly workshops.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Launch<\/b>: We launched with an in-person launch event and orientation with an additional virtual option for mentors who could not attend in person. At orientation, we provided participants with program resources such as the mentee and mentor handbooks that included conversation starters and worksheets for goal setting.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    How did you foster continued alumni engagement throughout the program?<\/b><\/h2>\n

    There is always a lot of excitement at the beginning of the semester, but as the semester goes on, it\u2019s common for engagement to drop. Here are some strategies that worked for us to keep alumni mentors engaged throughout the semester:<\/span><\/p>\n